Regula, caput XIX
Laying the Foundation
Christ orders the proper sequence for building the church, monastery, and residences, securing sufficient members for the offices, and establishing careful stewardship and discernment of all offerings before the community is founded.
Here Christ lays out how the church and monastery are to be fully built, and how a sufficient number of nuns and priests is to be found for celebrating the divine offices, before a community is established within the monastery. He also arranges for the dowry and the offering to be given to the monastery by the newly received nuns, and for how those resources are to be spent; likewise, for the reckoning to be received each year of the expenses incurred that year, and how the revenues that remain over are to be distributed to the poor. He also arranges for the careful way of discerning whether those alms that are bestowed on them were acquired well or badly, before they are received from those offering them by the abbess and the community.
Order of Entry and Endowment
The community is to be introduced only after the buildings are ready, with enough sisters and priests for the offices; each founding member must bring a personal yearly provision, later entrants may add no lands or revenues, and the allowance of the deceased is to be given to the poor until a replacement enters.
"The church must be built first, and then the sisters' monastery and the priests' residence in their proper places, as was said above, and only after that should the community be introduced." And if perhaps they are fully unable to complete these things in a short time, then every care must be taken that the community is never established before the buildings are sufficiently finished for the members to live there without hardship and anxiety. But neither should fewer sisters be brought in at first than are sufficient for chanting their office, nor fewer priests than are able to sing the daily office from the liturgical books at all times. Then, however, they should be settled in the monastery, and afterward as many other persons again, until the number of sisters and brothers previously specified is filled. Let every one of the persons first founding the monastery, on entering this religious life, bring with her as much revenue in money and place under the authority of the abbess as will be enough for her bread and drink in any year, whether the year is barren or fruitful. From the money, however, voluntarily contributed by the people of the kingdom, the abbess will provide everyone else with other food, clothing, and whatever necessary buildings require. Once the number of the first persons founding the monastery has been filled and each one has her allowance of bread and drink every year, let neither lands nor revenues ever afterward be contributed to the monastery by others entering the religious life later or by any other persons. For when one person in the monastery dies, let another be received in her place according to the order stated above, but let the clothing of the deceased person, together with her allowance of food and drink, be given to the poor every day, until another has entered her place.
Stewardship and the Claims of the Poor
Each year provisions must be calculated before All Saints, surpluses given to the poor, and any shortfall supplied only with great caution; old clothing goes to the poor, excessive building is condemned as sin against the poor, offerings from families should be voluntary alms rather than revenue, the destitute are received freely, and all such gifts are dedicated to the poor and needy churches.
Before the feast of All Saints each year, the food and necessities for the coming year must be calculated and foreseen, and whatever is left over from the food or money of the current year should be given to the poor on the day after All Saints, that is, on the commemoration of the souls of the dead, and because of this the monastery should not be burdened with any further hospitality. It must also be understood that if at any time the provisions for the coming year seem insufficient, then only as much as is necessary should be drawn from the money and provisions of the approaching year and added to the next year — and no more than that — as much as the abbess chooses in order to avoid danger to her soul, and after that, whatever remains should be given to the needy. Whenever new clothing is acquired, the old should be given to the poor. The abbess should also know that if she builds more houses than the genuine need of the residents requires, or if she builds grand ones, this will be reckoned against her as a grave sin, just as if she had violently stripped my poor of their own food and clothing. Then, when someone offers a son or daughter to the monastery, they should always give something to the monastery as alms — but not revenue or property — as long as each person has a provision of bread and drink from the lands already given; but so that they do not appear empty before their God, let something be offered. This offering, however, should not be forced or imposed by the community, but should rest on the will and good pleasure of the giver, so that as much as they are able or willing to give may be received with thanksgiving. Those who are entirely poor, however, should be received free of charge. Furthermore, whatever has been offered in this way should never be turned to the monastery's own use, but should be distributed to poor and needy churches — unless perhaps the monastery is pressed by unavoidable necessity.
Testing and Redirecting Offerings
Beyond the prescribed founding offerings, nothing else should be accepted; if necessity forces acceptance, the community must scrutinize the honesty of the source, receive only what is witnessed and confirmed, pray for doubtful givers without taking their gifts, and redirect unneeded offerings to the poor and churches in the community's name.
Furthermore, whatever is offered to the community by anyone beyond the offerings of those persons entering religious life and first founding the monastery, and those who enter empty-handed, must not be accepted at all. But if the community, burdened by unbearable necessity, is forced to accept what is offered, let it be carefully looked into and thoroughly investigated whether perhaps the things offered come from dishonest earnings; and after deliberation, let the abbess say to the one offering: 'We are instructed to accept nothing except from known and honestly acquired means. I ask you, come back on a set day and, having carefully examined your offering, present it to your God before witnesses!' When he returns with a witness's testimony, his offering is to be received, and the community will pray for him, and he will be counted among the benefactors. But if there is doubt whether the goods were honestly acquired or not — some thinking one way, others another — they must not be accepted under any pressing need; nevertheless, once the giver has made his wishes known to the community, all will pray for him out of love. But those who offer something out of fervent desire, even though the community has no need of them, should be told by the community: 'We gladly receive your gifts and embrace you in our love; but since we have no personal need for these offerings, we advise you and humbly ask that you distribute these gifts, on our behalf and in our name, to the poor or to the churches you feel drawn to.' And if he promises to do this and follows through, let his request be granted."
Read the original Latin
Christus ordinat hic, qualiter debent ecclesia et monasterium edificari complete et numerus monialium et sacerdotum competens ad celebranda diuina officia inueniri, antequam instituatur conuentus intus in monasterio. Disponit eciam de dote et oblacione danda monasterio a monialibus nouiter recipiendis et de modo expendendi illa; item de racione annuatim recipienda de expensis factis illo anno et quomodo redditus, qui supersunt, pauperibus erogentur. Disponit eciam de curioso modo discernendi, an bene vel male acquisite sint ille elemosine, que eis largiuntur, antequam per abbatissam et conuentum ab offerentibus recipiantur.
"Construenda quippe primum est ecclesia et monasterium sororum atque curia sacerdotum in suis locis, vt dictum est superius, et postea introducendus est conuentus. Et si forte in breui plene consumare nequiuerint, tunc omnino cauendum est, ne vmquam instituatur conuentus, priusquam in tantum consumata fuerint, quod sine tribulacione et metu possint inhabitare. Sed nec pauciores sorores primum introducende sunt, quam vt sufficientes sint ad officium suum decantandum, nec pauciores sacerdotes, quam quod ipsi eciam ad cantandum omni die de tempore officium sint valentes. Tunc autem in monasterio collocentur et postea tot alie persone, quod numerus prenominatus sororum et fratrum compleatur. Omnis persona dictarum primo fundancium monasterium hanc religionem introiens tot pecuniarum redditus secum inferat et potestati abbatisse subiciat, quot in omni anno tam sterili quam fertili sufficiant sibi ad panem et potum. De pecunia vero a populo regni voluntarie contributa alia victualia, vestes quoque et necessarias domos abbatissa omnibus prouidebit. Deinde numero personarum primarum fundancium monasterium completo et qualibet persona prebendam panis et potus omni anno habente, nequaquam postea ab aliis postea intrantibus religionem seu ab aliis personis predia vel redditus monasterio tribuantur. Nam vna persona in monasterio mortua suscipiatur alia pro ea secundum ordinem supradictum, sed vestimenta persone mortue vna cum prebenda eius in cibo et potu omni die, quousque alia in locum suum intrauerit, pauperibus erogentur.
Ante festum omnium sanctorum annuatim computari et presciri debent victualia et necessaria anni subsequentis et omnia, que tunc remanent de victualibus seu pecunia anni tunc instantis, in crastino omnium sanctorum, hoc est in die commemoracionis animarum, indigentibus largiantur et propter hoc non oportet monasterium aliqua hospitalitate aggrauari. Sciendum est eciam, quod, si aliquando victualia sequentis anni videntur non sufficere, tunc de pecunia et victualibus imminentis anni tantum sequenti anno addatur, quantum necesse est, et non plus, prout abbatissa anime sue periculum voluerit euitare, et postea, quicquid remanserit, egenis tribuatur. Quocienscumque noua vestimenta assumuntur, vetera pauperibus erogentur. Sciat eciam abbatissa, quod, si plures domos quam inhabitancium vera exigit necessitas, siue eciam domos superbas construi fecerit, tam graue hoc sibi computabitur peccatum, sicut si a pauperibus meis proprium victum et vestimenta per violenciam spoliasset. Deinde, cum aliquis offert filium suum vel filiam in monasterio, semper aliquid offerat monasterio pro elemosina sed non redditus aut predia, dum quelibet persona prebendam panis et potus habet de prediis prius datis; sed ne vacue appareant in conspectu Dei sui, offeratur aliquid. Oblacio autem illa non sit coacta nec a conuentu prefixa sed in voluntate et beneplacito offerentis, vt, quantum poterit vel voluerit dare, cum graciarum accione recipiatur. Persone autem, que ex toto sunt pauperes, gratis suscipiantur. Porro, quecumque sic oblata fuerint, nullatenus in vtilitatem monasterii conuertantur sed pauperibus et ecclesiis indigentibus erogentur, nisi forte monasterium ineuitabili necessitate coartatur.
Preterea, a quocumque aliqua conuentui oblata fuerint preter oblacionem illarum personarum religionem et monasterium primo fundancium et intrancium, que vacue non debent ingredi, nullatenus suscipiantur. Si vero conuentus intollerabili necessitate grauatus oblata suscipere compellitur, attendatur prouide et curiose inquiratur, si forte oblata sint de male acquisitis, et habita deliberacione dicat abbatissa offerenti: 'Preceptum nobis est nichil debere suscipere nisi de certis et bene acquisitis. Rogo te, reuertere tali die et examinata sollicite oblacione tua offer eam Deo tuo coram testibus!' Quo reuerso cum testimonio recipiatur oblacio eius et conuentus orabit pro eo et inter benefactores reputetur. Si autem dubium est, vtrum bene acquisita sint an male, aliis sencientibus sic, aliis vero sic, nullatenus suscipiantur quacumque necessitate cogente; tamen voluntate eius indicata conuentui orabunt omnes pro eo propter caritatem. Qui vero ex feruenti desiderio offerunt aliqua, nec tamen conuentus eis indiget, dicatur eis a conuentu: 'Nos quidem libenter suscipimus dona tua et te in caritate nostra colligimus; verum, quia istis oblatis personaliter non indigemus, suademus tibi et humiliter supplicamus, vt oblata ista ex parte nostra et sub nostro nomine eroges pauperibus aut ecclesiis, quibus tibi dicimus.' Et si hoc promiserit et fecerit, peticio eius exaudiatur."
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